Bidirectional Association Between Kidney Function and Atrial Fibrillation: A Population-Based Cohort Study

Background Consensus lacks concerning a bidirectional association between kidney function and atrial fibrillation (AF), but this is crucial information for prevention/treatment efforts for both chronic kidney disease and AF. Therefore, we investigated the bidirectional association between kidney function and AF. Methods and Results This study was a prospective cohort study including 9228 participants (mean age, 64.9 years; 57.2% women) with information on kidney function (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] based on serum creatinine [eGFRcreat], cystatin C [eGFRcys], or both [eGFRcreat-cys], and urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio) and AF. Reduced kidney function was defined as eGFRcreat <60 mL/min per 1.73 m². Cox proportional-hazards, logistic regression, linear mixed, and joint models were used to investigate the association of kidney function with AF and vice versa. During follow-up (median of 8.0 years), 780 events of incident AF occurred. Lower eGFRcys and eGFRcreat-cys were associated with increased AF risk (hazard ratio [HR], 1.08 [95% CI, 1.03-1.14] and HR, 1.07 [95% CI, 1.01-1.14], respectively, per 10 mL/min per 1.73 m² eGFR decrease). For eGFRcys and eGFRcreat-cys, 10-year cumulative incidence of AF was 16% (eGFR <60) and 6% (eGFR ≥60). Prevalent AF (versus no prevalent AF) was associated with 2.85 mL/min per 1.73 m² lower eGFRcreat and with a faster decline of eGFRcreat with age. Prevalent AF was associated with a 1.3-fold increased risk of incident reduced kidney function. Conclusions Kidney function, especially eGFRcys, and AF are bidirectionally associated. There are currently no targeted prevention efforts for AF in patients with mild chronic kidney disease and vice versa. Our results could provide the first step to improve prediction/prevention of both conditions.